According to various French media and the police report, the violent arrest took place last Wednesday night. The video shows how a handcuffed man is beaten by officers before he is pushed into the police car. An officer can be heard shouting “shut your mouth” repeatedly.
The Bobigny public prosector’s office reportedly launched an investigation into the incident.
Earlier that night, a driver reported being threatened by a man “with a handgun.” The driver said that the suspect was in a car with two other people. Local police reportedly located the vehicle shortly later and took the driver as well as the passengers into custody. According to the police report, one of the suspects “attempted to get rid of an automatic pistol” during the arrest. It remains unclear whether this suspect was the same man that can be seen in the video.
In an unrelated case, French medical experts on Friday exonerated three police officers accused of heavy-handedness in the arrest of a black man who died in custody nearly four years ago, a source close to the investigation told AFP. Adama Traore, 24, did not die of “positional asphyxia”, said the expert report commissioned by state investigators, ruling out the officers pinning him to the ground as the cause of his demise.
Instead, the experts found Traore died of heart failure possibly brought on by underlying health conditions in a context of “intense stress” and physical exertion, as well as the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol -- the active ingredient of cannabis -- in his body.
The case, which sparked violent protests in Paris suburbs, became a rallying cry for police brutality in France, which young, black men say is often targeted at them.
